‘Capitol Week in Review’ Category

The highlight of state government news for 2011 came when the Arkansas legislature lowered state tax rates by $35 million a year. The tax cut package includes tax relief for consumers in Act 755, which lowers the sales tax on groceries by half a cent, cutting state revenue by $20 million a year. Another tax cut for consumers is Act 757 to make the first weekend in August a “back to school” sales tax holiday on clothing items costing less than $100 and accessories less than $50. No state sales tax is collected on school supplies that weekend. State revenue officials predicted it would save consumers more than $2 million. The legislature extended tax relief to buyers of used cars, by raising the exemption threshold. Previously, you had to pay sales tax on a used car purchase of up to $2,500 and now you don’t have to pay unless the car costs more than $4,000. This will save Arkansans an estimated $2.5 million a year. Act 754, also passed by the legislature in 2011, will lower utility taxes for manufacturers by $5.27 million. Prisons: Arkansas lawmakers will keep close track of Act 570, a 167-page law passed in 2011 that …

Last year 481 juveniles were committed to state custody in a secure detention facility. That is down from the previous year, when 531 youths were committed to a detention facility and significantly lower than the year before, when 636 youths were committed.

So-called Conservatives are very good at inventing story-lines, names, and slogans. They provide simple explanations for those who prefer simple answers. Nowhere is this truer than with economic issues.

Tourism’s contribution to the Arkansas economy increased about 1.4 percent last year, from $5.38 billion to $5.45 billion. The number of visitors to the state actually went down slightly, but their spending was up.